The first autograph I ever received from anyone was from Minnie Minoso, a gracious ambassador for the White Sox and baseball in general. A lot of Chicago baseball fans were hoping that he would get a call yesterday from a special committee of Negro League and pre-Negro League historians informing him that he would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen for Minnie Minoso.
We can debate all day whether he deserved to be enshrined in Cooperstown (his Major League stats don’t seem extraordinary until you realize that he was deprived of his prime years at the top level of the game because of racial segregation). One thing is clear, though – Minnie Minoso has handled himself with grace and class for the past seven decades with nary a word, complaint, or campaign about the Hall of Fame. He put it best in a statement yesterday: “I know that baseball fans have me in their own Hall of Fame – the one in their hearts… that matters more to me than any official recognition. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, and I am truly honored to be considered. I’ve given my life to baseball, and the game has given me so much. That’s what matters the most to me.”
A certain broadcaster/former third baseman from the North Side of Chicago should take note.
FRANK THE TANK'S SLANT 
The only Hall of Fame Ron Santo should be in is the Unintentional Comedy Hall of Fame. When a man with no legs sells SUVs – SUVs with pedals rough three feet from his dangling stumps – that is high comedy.
I quite literally had to hold down whatever I was drinking the first time I saw that commercial. It’d be like me selling tampons or class-related products.
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I could not agree more with Frank the Tank. Minnie should have been included in the Hall of Fame. However, the character he demonstrated when not chosen speaks volumes about why he is loved by so many.
As for Mr. Santo, his biennial sob fest into any available microphone where he pleads to get into the Hall of Fame before he dies is no longer understandable. It is disgusting. There is little difference between Santo and a similar celebrated cub enthusiast – Willie Woo-Woo. Just poor old losers loved by fans who celebrate the same.
Have some poise Santo. Being enshrined in the Hall is an honor, not an entitlement.
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